WashingtonWild FALL NEWSLETTER 2013 Including: Our BLM Lands: Washington’s Unheralded Backcountry BLM Lands in Washington State Conservation Voices: Representative Reichert Wild Sky Wilderness: Five Years Later 1 Washington Wild Dear Friends: S t a ff In 2014 we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the passage Jim Hook of the Wilderness Act of 1964, a landmark act of Congress Executive Director and a signifi cant step towards preserving the country’s last remaining wild places. Signed by President Lyndon Johnson, the Act designated over nine million acres of permanently Lyndsay Gordon protected Wilderness across the country. But there is even Membership Assistant more to celebrate in 2014 besides this epic anniversary for Wilderness protection. Next year marks Washington Wild’s 35th anniversary as the premier Alison Rosenstock state-wide Wilderness grassroots advocacy organization, one that has played an invaluable Telephone Outreach role since 1979 in permanently protecting nearly three million acres of Wilderness within Washington State. As many of you may recall, WA Wild was instrumental in bringing together bi-partisan support leading to the passage of the Washington Wilderness Act in 1984, another Christine Scheele milestone anniversary to observe next year. Volunteer Coordinator Given the signifi cance of next year’s anniversaries, we started celebrating a little early. In August Tom Uniack this year, WA Wild staff gathered with over 60 others in Index, Washington, to commemorate Conservation Director the fi ve-year anniversary of the passage of the Wild Sky Wilderness Act, which protected Our BLM Lands: 106,000 acres of mature and old growth forests and salmon spawning streams just over an hour Jill Wasberg from downtown Seattle. Sen. Patty Murray, Rep. Rick Larsen, and citizens of Index spoke to the crowd about the myriad of positive impacts of Wild Sky on their community. Wilderness works. Washington’s Unheralded Backcountry Membership & Just ask the folks living and working in Index. Development Director When it comes to federal lands, images of iconic national employees about the future course for the agency: “the But our work is never fi nished and the tasks ahead are challenging. Today our aggregate parks or scenic national forests fi ll our minds. However, landowners, the American people, want their lands held campaign work in the Puget Sound area envisions the addition of over 400,000 acres of new in reality, the agency that manages the most federal and managed for clean water, the protection of endangered Wilderness and nearly 1,000 miles of new Wild and Scenic River protection. And as this land isn’t the Park Service or the Forest Service – it’s the species, for abundant wildlife, for productive fi sheries, issue’s Guest Voice, Rep. Dave Reichert, reminds us, we should not overlook the Wilderness Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Responsible for for open space, for the protection of our heritage and Board of Directors opportunities in those public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) here managing more than 260 million acres nationwide, the God’s creation. If we manage our lands primarily for these in Washington. agency originated with a strong multiple-use mandate purposes we will have public support, if not we will neither Roger Mellem, President that attempts to serve all uses from logging and energy have nor deserve their support.” Doug North, Vice President For nearly 35 years, our members, including many of you reading this today, have provided the development to recreation and grazing. Brad Meissner, Treasurer critical support that allows us to fulfi ll our mission. We need your continuing help to protect Carla Villar, Secretary and preserve our favorite places to explore and play in the wild, in the next year and beyond. Washington State is home to more than 460,000 acres Hamed Ahmadi of BLM lands, the vast majority of which are located Leann Arend We have an exciting opportunity for you to double your donations, dollar-for-dollar, in eastern Washington. Th at total is the least of all the Nalani Askov starting NOW. A group of very generous Washington Wild supporters pledged $20,000 as a twelve western states from Alaska to New Mexico. Yet, Adam Lenhardt matching challenge in order to raise a new level support for our mission. I thank you for your Washington BLM lands still boast a designated Wilderness Tim Overland support as a member, and hope I can count on your contribution toward this match campaign area, the nation’s newest national monument, a scenic Kelly Rula to help us realize the full potential that these incremental dollars bring to our organization. wilderness study area, and much of the last remaining Mark Walters Please help us stand vigilant in protecting places like your favorite trails in the Alpine Lakes habitat statewide for the imperiled sage grouse. Wilderness Area, Olympic Peninsula old growth forests and rivers, lower-elevation wild lands and salmon spawning streams in the Cascades, and even more around the state. Th ese are the places that make our state a great place to live. Whether you hike, climb, trail run, horseback Balancing Extractive Uses with a ride, mountain bike, hunt, fi sh, or do anything to enjoy the outdoors, I know our work matters Conservation Legacy Cover photo by to you. It directly aff ects the quality of life for you and the generations that follow. Steve Biber In 2000, there was a concerted eff ort by agency leadership Please give our request careful consideration and look for a letter from us in your mailbox. Juniper Dunes Wilderness by John Osborn Graphic Design by Join us as we look forward to an exciting 2014. to balance the historic focus on more extractive uses with a conservation legacy. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt Darcey Whitney Yours for a Wild Washington Photos above courtesy of Jeff Clark, BLM (left ), Jerry Magee (top), 2 Jim gave an impassioned speech to agency leadership and Washington Wild (right), and BLM (bottom)3 Nine years later, that vision became a reality when Congress San Juan Islands National Monument Protecting Sage Grouse established the National Conservation Lands System (now dubbed “National Conservation Lands”) with bipartisan Habitat: A Vital BLM- support from Washington Congressman Dave Reichert (R- The most recent addition to the National Conservation Lands Role WA08) among others. Lands system in Washington is the San Juan Islands National Monument. The monument was established in National Conservation Lands is the nation’s newest, March 2013 by President Obama to protect nearly 1,000 Additional notable landscapes permanently protected collection of public lands - 28 acres of recreational areas beloved by locals and visitors managed by the BLM in million acres of nationally significant landscapes set alike, cultural sites used by local tribes for thousands of Washington include the 7,000- aside for current and future generations because of their years, historic lighthouses and disappearing habitat for acre Juniper Dunes, located outstanding cultural, ecological and scientific importance. marine mammals, seabirds, and the once thought to be just miles from the growing The system is comprised of BLM lands established as extinct island marble butterfly. city of Pasco, WA. Oregonian Wilderness, Wild and Scenic Rivers, national monuments, sand dock blooms that paint national conservation areas, or other protective The story of the designation goes back a quarter century in the Dunes red in the spring are designations. the spring of 1989 when a group of eleven local residents surrounded by extensive areas reacted to a proposal by the Washington State Department of sagebrush steppe. Designated “The Bureau of Land Management’s system of National of Natural Resources to log 120 acres of Chadwick Hill on in 1984, this is the only BLM Conservation Lands fulfills a key conservation mission Lopez Island. The group, Friends of Chadwick, successfully Wilderness in Washington that has been evolving, particularly since passage of the petitioned to stop the logging and subsequently worked State. Another is BLM-managed Chopaka Mountain Wilderness Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976,” said to get federal funding to acquire the local parkland by the Sage grouse by BLM Jerry Magee, Wilderness and National Conservation Lands Bureau of Land Management. Study Area in Okanagan County near the Canadian border. This region is a destination Program Lead for the Oregon-Washington State Office of “In order to get these important birds on the road to for mountain climbing, camping and hiking, and it the Bureau of Land Management. “These lands represent Ten years later, local residents became increasingly recovery, we need to protect the little sage grouse habitat we also supported the last native herd of bighorn sheep in an increasingly rare opportunity for Americans to escape concerned that the administrative management of the San have intact on federal and state lands so we don’t take a step Washington which was hunted out in the 1920s. crowds and create their own outdoor adventures in the wild Juan BLM lands was not the permanent protection that backwards,” said Derek Stinson, Fish and Wildlife Biologist beauty of the West, as well as providing unique resources for they were seeking. In 2009, an earnest effort began to seek for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. study to scientists and students of all ages.” a national monument designation. Local leaders garnered BLM Lands in Washington State also comprise part of the last occupied habitat for the greater sage-grouse, which has strong local support for “Additionally we need to restore habitat on strategically seen its numbers decline more than 60% over the last 40 protection from more located lands so sage-grouse populations can expand their years. The Duffy Creek, Moses Coulee and additional BLM than 150 local businesses range or on sites promising for reintroduction.” and more than 30 local lands in Douglas and Grant Counties are located in some of the last remaining occupied habitat areas for the large conservation, recreation The State has been working with the BLM since 2008 to ground-dwelling bird.